Community Guzheng Builds
Build your own!
David M (Germany, 2020)
Summary
Build Time (calendar): 5 Months
Soundboard: Recycled Closet Back Panels
Backboard: Recycled Closet Back Panels
Internal Supports, Frame: Recycled Wood
External Frame: Recycled Wood
Decorations: Acrylic paint beneath clear varnish
Finishes
Soundboard and Backboard: shellac
Side boards: brown oil paint and clear varnish
Strings: Modern, purchased
Bridges: 1 week | Recycled Wood | Acrylic tips | Clear Varnish | Bare Feet
David writes that he built this guzheng from recycled materials over the course of 5 months. “DIY was always a hobby of mine” he says. Two previous projects include building a keytar and renovating an electric organ.
It’s the music that first interested David. He cites soundtracks like Kung Fu Hustle and using a koto in his own song writing. “I thought it would be awesome to play the real instrument live on stage, rather than strum that stuff through a keyboard.”
One of the amazing things about David’s build is the price - he spent just 20€ for strings and shellac. Everything else was recycled wood. “I more or less took the first wood plank I found and used it =) .” His brother lent his skills for the decorations and David did the rest. Well done, and thank you for sharing!
Advice - Be patient, pick strong materials, use a lot of glue
“You need a lot of patience, because it's time consuming. Curves in woodwork take forever to make.”
“Make sure to have all the material you need. The soundboard has to withstand the tension when bent, without breaking. I made all curved parts out of the same material, which was flexible enough.”
“Building the S shaped bridge was a challenge if you are not able to steam bend the wood. I stacked 4 S-shaped pieces, which I clamped on the front soundboard and glued together. It keeps the basic shape and you can polish it smooth.”
“The body must be robust to withstand the tension of the strings without breaking. An oversized design is probably favorable [for first-timers], rather than destroying everything as soon as you finish. Use wooden dowels and bracings to give the guzheng stability.”
And finally: “GLUE!!! you need a lot of glue :D .“
JL at Hit’n Run (USA, 2019)
Summary
Build Time (calendar): +/- 1 year, including research, mock-up, and build
Soundboard: Yellow Popular
Backboard: Pine
Internal Supports, Frame: Cabinet pine. Tuning pegboard is recycled grand piano tuner board, quarter-sawn.
External Frame
Sideboards: Cabinet-grade pine
Head, Tail: Cherry and Walnut
Fixed Bridges
S Bridge: Purpleheart Wood
Straight Bridge: Hard Maple with imitation ivory ends
Decorations: None
Finishes:
Soundboard: Tung Oil, hand-applied
Sideboards, Head, Tail: artist oils/solvent and lacquer
Strings: Modern, purchased
Bridges: Modern, purchased
Extra: Electric Transducer Pickups laid diagonally across inner soundboard surface
JL writes that it was years of listening to Asian music that built a desire for an interesting project. “The biggest challenge was assembling the soundboard from several pieces, shaping and bending it to a fairly tight fit to the solid sides. That entailed a lost of rasp file, planing, and careful mating of the seam.” His biggest advice: “Keep it simple and try to be patient. I ‘painted myself into a corner’ a couple of times.”
In addition to the incredible attention to detail JL showed in curving the sideboards as well as the soundboard, his build stands out with added electric pickups. His choices were the Shadow SH 714 Universal Quad Transducer (20mm) with a Fishman Platinum Stage EQ Analog Preamp and Direct Input.
You’ll also notice the cantilevered stand system in the top photo. Earlier in the build JL made the more classic non-folding t-stands, but =converted them into a cantilevered support to allow easier entry and exit from the playing position. Well done, and thank you for sharing!
